SLC MINI VACATION DAY 5

Ok, remember how I said that adventure was going to be the theme of the trip because it started that way? Well, it also ended that way....
Monday morning dawned bright and stunningly beautiful - just my luck we were in the car and on the freeway during the entire sunrise....will have to remedy that in July....
Mom had made us both fruit smoothies for the drive and we chatted. She got me dropped off and I again said good-bye and made my way through security. Lines werent so long this time, though it was just as challenging.
I got down to the gate only to overhear the gal on the intercom announce that the flight would start boarding for some other state than Oregon - oh, no, not again I thought. I quickly checked with a couple other passengers around me to confirm what I had just heard - only to be re-assured that the adjoining gate was going there, not ours (16 vs 15) - dumb intercom - big whew!
We waited a bit, but I was glad to see my boarding pass put me in the first group boarding the plane instead of the last (like going from OR). I ended up sitting bewteen this cute young mother with her baby and an older "grandma". We enjoyed the flight together visiting about ourselves and our families. Thankfully the flight was uneventful.
After I got off the plane I made my way through the airport to the baggage claim service where I found my bags had been sent the day before. I lugged them out to the shuttle service stop and climbed on a bus. Thankful for the beautiful weather and that I was heading home - or so I thought.
Most of you know I have not done much flying in my life, so I really am clueless about most things, but you think I would at least know where I parked....but no. After 45 minutes, and 3 bus drivers, and 3 round trips to the airport and back to the parking lot, I FINALLY saw the truck and was able to get off the bus. The whole time my brain had remembered a #3 and parking by a lightpost - but I was between 7-8 and not by a lightpost at all!
After I finally got to truck I called my friend to drop off some baby things to her. She gave me directions, expecting a 30 minute drive to her house, I was off again. I did really well with the instructions until about 1/2 through when the road forked and I went the wrong way and ended up back on the freeway instead of in a residential area. I finally stopped and tried to determine where I was and where I should have been. Instead of wading through more directions, my friend agreed to meet me to swap stuff. Thanx J for being so paitent with me!
I finally called preston to let him know that I was on my way. I stopped quickly for food and gas and arrived home much later than expected.
Preston & I literally swapped places in the driveway as he was much later than expected at work and little boys were in need of attention and help. We still have sick kiddos here at home and life goes on as normal with chaos reigning daily. It seems like being in SLC went in the blink of an eye - almost as if it were a dream - and yet I know I was there and I have lots of photo work to keep me VERY busy in the next month to show for it.
For all the stress I went through worrying about sick kiddos and the crazy schedule and the girls needing to be in charge so much, I can say I did enjoy my time in SLC and the things I learned and the people I was able to spend time with. It is not an opportunity that comes very often and I hope that I will be able to use all of the new things I learned to help me with future photos and clients. The trip has hopefully helped me as a person to develop my talents and in turn be able to help me share them with others in a better way. It has also helped me be able to re-energize and be ready to take on all the new adventures as mom, wife and photographer.

SLC MINI VACATION DAY 3

OK, so I was trying to be efficient and see if I could get ONE post in order - instead I got it ALL mixed up. This post was supposed to go at the bottom...oh well...

After the photography shoot in Gardner Village Sat AM I went back to Preston's parents house. We watched conference, ate yummy food, and then ran some errands. One of our errands was to a fabric store. Preston's mom has made each of the kids a handmade quilt and bedding set. We went and found fabrics for kels's birthday quilt. I dont love sewing, but it was fun to pick out materials. I cant wait to see what mom & C come up with to get it finished. It will be perfect for Kels's new big bed. Another errand mom & I ran - multiple times (long story) was to a MWB gal who is also a photographer. She let us come to her house to see her home "studio" and to give some good tips about photography and working with a home studio setting. I think my next big savings goal is going to be for new lighting equipment, after we get advertising all squared away....It was great to see all the "techy" stuff she had and know that I will get there someday too.

After errands we watched more conference and worked on special projects. J was working on some beautiful jewelry, C was working on crocheted quilt pieces, and mom and I were working on cutting fabric for an African MWB project. Both Jac & I were stunned by the stories mom shared with us and what the fabric would be used for. We really dont realize how VERY wealthy we are in this country and how much we take for granted every day. I was so happy to be there to help mom, my little bit was a big help to her and hopefully will help another woman/baby in need.

Two family highlights of the day for me were:

1) Getting to do a maternity shoot for my cute sis-in-law and our cousin on the Bentley side of the family. They are both due just a few weeks apart and it was tons of fun to just play! Thanx girls (and hubbies) for letting me try this with you. This is just a small sample and there will be more to come on the photo blog in the next few weeks!

I love this shot and have seen it done with clothes and bare prego tummies. It is so sweet. Brit's black shirt made the perfect background for all the love her hands could hold.

Jess isnt nicknamed "sunshine" for nothing. Thanx Jess for being so patient with me - hope you had as much fun as I did!
Both hubbies were hanging around and I just couldnt resist getting them into as many picts as possible. We got lots of darling shots of the 4 of them as well as the couples. More to come soon!

2) Getting to be a part of the Baxter family tradition of an adult only dinner out after the priesthood session. Mom & dad had chosen an Aisan restaurant which many were concerned that they didnt think they would like anything. Let me tell you - we ALL left there so full I think we waddled out of there. I have not had Aisan food that good in a VERY long time. The restaurant is called the Aisan Star and I already told mom we HAVE to go there again when we are there in July. Everyone got to pick something off of the menu and then we all shared bites from every dish. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and even more wonderful company. It is a really great place to go with a big group - even with all of us (10) we still brought home FOUR boxes of leftovers. Lucky me, I got treated to one of those boxes the night before I flew out of SLC. :)

Thanx again to mom & dad for treating us to such a fabulous meal and the wonderful night to just spend time together!

After we got back from dinner, everyone came back to mom & dad's for playing games. That was tons of fun because we were all tired enough to get very silly. It was the perfect end to a perfect night. Thanx tons to everyone who took extra time to come and spend at the house while I was there! Miss you already and cant wait to see you soon!

SLC MINI VACATION DAY 3 CONT....

Even with the cute models we had available to take picts of, I found myself wandering away from the group to capture the beauty around us. This is just a very small sample of the landscape photos that I took during our shoot time at Gardner Village.
This first pict is of a silk flower that was bright, hot fuscia pink. I was able to tweak it in Lightroom with one of my fave "actions" that gives an antique look. If you could see the 2 together you would be really amazed at the differences.

Again - my brain knows when a photo "screams" B&W or antique. This shot with the old wooden sleighs, the wood slat building and the light dusting of snow just hollered out loud to me. It really is so much more striking than the color photo.

I was amazed as I looked around to still see Spring trying to break through even in the middle of Winter weather. We had light to heavy snow through the whole shoot and it was FREEZING outside - and yet here was this pussy willow busy still blooming, still showing off its beauty. It was just breathtaking to me.

SLC MINI VACATION DAY 3 CONT....

this is the cute brother/sister model team that came just for our special shoot. They were really great to be so patient with all of us taking turns taking their picts.They were esp tolerant of the 2 hour shoot in the snow and freezing weather!
many of you know Julia S and that she is also building a photography business. She was SO focused that I couldnt resist taking picts of her taking picts!

Kim H who also many of you know, is ALSO building a photography business. She and Julia had rented rockin' lenses for the day ( the spendy kind you can only afford to rent) and they both had a blast playing with all of their settings and the new lenses. It is funny to me to watch how many of us use unusual positions to get the shot. I laughed out loud when our shoot coordinator got down on her back, shooting out and up, to get the pict she wanted. It totally goes under that category "you know if you are a photographer if..." - I do that too - and it was fun to see other photographers doing whatever was needed to "get the shot".

Julia & Kim, it was really good to get to see both of you and hear how well you are both doing! You guys are awesome photographers and I cant wait to see more picts from your SLC trip!

SLC MINI VACATION DAY 2

Friday I woke to it snowing HARD outside. I was surprised and a bit worried that the workshop shoot might be cancelled because of the weather. It was a quiet, lazy morning with just myself to get ready - not something that ever happens. I got a late start and it was kind of nice. I had lots of new places to go today and I am not the best driver in the world, besides having to drive in the weather, so dad offered to let me borrow his GPS. What a cool toy! Even when I made a mistake following its directions it just re-calculated and got me on track again. Pretty cool

My first stop was to visit a favorite aunt on the Bentley side. We went to lunch together and had a great visit. Thanx Aunt K for taking time for me! It was tons of fun to see you!
When I had first arrived it had not been snowing at all - by the time I left ( about an hour later) it was snowing big, fat, fluffy flakes - it felt like being inside of a snowglobe that has been shaken. Still unsure about getting to BYU for the photo session, not knowing if it was still on - I kicked on the GPS and was off again.

The description given by the workshop instructor was "a lovely place...where I do lots of my photo shoots" but when I arrived I would hardly call it lovely (ugly orange horse-shoe shaped building, muddy, weedy lot surrounded by cinder-block buildings with painted over grafitti in an older, industrial part of the city). I was sure I was in the wrong place until lots of other cars started showing up. I really wish I would have thought to take a pict of the shoot site - it definately was NOT what I was expecting.
The instructor gave some great beginning advice and instructions and then had everyone pair up and take picts of the ONE model she had provided and we took picts of each other. I found myself almost hysterically laughing as I took pictures of about 20 people with cameras as they descended "en masse" on the little model sitting/posing on the ground. I had kind of given up on getting any close ups so I enjoyed the time by taking picts of others taking picts.

One of the last instructions we were given was on how to take water reflection picts. There was this HUGE water/mud puddle on the site and with the cloudy skies it actually provided a pretty good light source to try for some picts. This was my attempt at capturing the tall tree and building behind it. Not so bad considering it was muddy water instead of clear

After the shoot we all headed to BYU for the PhotoShop lecture/presentation. I really learned a lot of small and simple things that I can hopefully now use with future photo session editing. I took tons of notes and I am hoping that will help jog my memory when I am ready to use them.

Overall I think that it was worth it to come, even for the small and simple instructions that should be very helpful and the opportunities it will hopefully provide as I continue to build my business.

After the workshop I met my cousin for dinner. We had tons of fun talking and enjoyed a yummy dinner. After dinner we ended up making a "spur of the moment" thought to go up and visit our grandmother - prob something I wouldnt have done on my own. We had a nice visit and I was able to show them both new picts of the kids and help brainstorm a picture wall that is still a "work in progress". It also gave me some good ideas of what I could do in the sitting room/studio here at home too.

By the time we all said "bye" it was way later than expected so N&B let me veg with them while we watched a show and then headed off to bed. It was a long, but constructive day.

SLC MINI VACATION DAY 1

As many of you know I was able to attend a photography workshop in SLC this past weekend. It has been full of adventure to say the least. I was so crazy busy with friends, family and the workshop that I didnt get any time to post - so I thought I would take some time now that I am back home and things are fairly quiet. As always - the posts are going to end up in reverse order but I will do my best to write in the details so it hopefully wont be too confusing :)

Before I left on Thursday morning I apologized to preston about a gazillion times for the condition of the house (major disaster) and the 2 little boys who were still fighting raging fevers & flu. The boys have been sick for almost a whole week and usually before I leave I make sure the house is sparkling....not this time though.....there just wasnt the time or energy to get things done with taking care of the boys and kels while everyone has been sick.

Because the boys were sick I got to attend my girls TMS Honor Roll Ceremony by myself. Both the girls made Grand Honor Roll this term - they both got straight A's - which they have both worked so hard for. I also was pleased and surprised to find out that they had both been involved in leadership groups such as WEB (where everyone belongs), Hands Are Not For Hurting, & G.R.E.A.T (gang resistance education and training) I knew some of the things that Ceana has been involved in but was surprised when Kaeli was also recognized as participating in the GREAT program. My girls just continue to amaze me with their diligence and hard work. They are a great blessing to me, and to others around them

When I got to the airport I had quite the adventure - it would set the theme for my entire trip. Many of you know that I dont fly unless I absolutely have to - which means I am not familiar with all of the new rules and regulations. I had my laptop bag, my camera bag and a HUGE suitcase. I lugged everything through the check in lines and hadnt eaten so I decided to treat myself to a fruit smoothie - only to get to the security check in to be told I would have to toss it before going through - so much for breakfast and the $5 I spent on it....I then asked about what would need to go into the x-ray scan trays and was told "just my laptop"......not quite. By the time I was done they had sent me and my bags back and forth through security about 3x - they didnt mention that hardware like external hardrives, shoes, cell phones, keys, bulky sweaters also all needed to go through in the trays.

I was feeling a bit grumbly about my drink and feeling really dumb about all of the security stuff when I finally arrived at my gate. I didnt have to wait long before boarding and was up and on my way. As I was walking into the plane cabin I heard someone call my name - which was odd to me because I was by myself - or so I thought. I looked up to find a fellow photographer friend already on board! We were both surprised and even more so that she had the seat next to her available. It was a tender mercy for me to not have to fly alone. We chatted about photography and our families the whole flight. We were so chatty that the gentleman next to us asked another passenger to switch places with him - which ended up being ok because the woman who ended up sitting there talked with us the whole way too. It really made the flight go by quickly and much more enjoyable than just sitting on a plane feeling lonely.

When I arrived at the airport I lugged my bags & suitcase to the waiting area where my sis-in-law came to pick me up. We then went and picked up Preston's brother at the UofU campus. We decided the campus was a great place to start with their family pictures. Their little guy has not seen me for a very long time, but he didnt seem to mind that I was taking his pict and we got to know each other again by playing and just having fun together. I will be posting more of their family session on the photo blog in the next few weeks, so watch for more to come!

After Little B had had enough of pictures we headed back to Preston's parents house and made a dinner plan - homemade smoothies (thanx Neil!) and Pizza Hut pizza with all the fixins (thanx Neil!) We had worn everyone out during the shoot so we ate pizza and watched the Food Channel and some other crazy tv shows. It was tons of fun to just sit and veg and enjoy yummy food and each other's company. Thanx tons to N&B for your kindness and hospitality during my stay!

Well, that is all for DAY 1 - will post more soon!